idosubaru

my suspicion is usually on the radiator with almost 20 year old subarus. but like nip said the thermostat and radiator cap are so cheap and easy to replace, that it's a great idea to just replace those first. go Subaru only on the thermostat - the difference is amazing, just looking at them. for the radiator have a look at it first and see what condition it's in. are the fins there, is it rusted bad, falling apart? if it looks good then you could attempt flushing it out, good chance it's clogged. though radiators can be had for $80-$100 so replacement is preferred in most cases. another possibility is the harmonic balancer (crank pulley). they have a thin rubber concentric ring in between the inner and out portions of the pulley. the metal can separate from the rubber and cause the actual outer part of the pulley not to spin as fast as the inner part. this can be a real challenge to narrow down if you don't know to look for it. draw an easy to see line (that won't get rubbed off) across the face of the crank pulley with anything...marker, paint, whatever. run the car for a day or week and then have a look at it. if it's fine the line will look like this: | | if it's not the line will have broken due to the pulley having separated and the line will be out of alignment like this (in circular fashion of course): | . |

replace the front O2 sensor. they're about $100 from subaru (i just bought 3 of them). very easy to replace, just need a...22 or 24 mm wrench and that's it. get this part from Subaru. i think you can gather this from the two very competent people that just replied, but subaru catalytic converter failure is rare...even many 80's subaru's out there at 20 years old are still running their original converter (well...not counting the ones lost to rust!). these codes only tell you what the ECU is 'seeing', they don't tell you what is wrong directly and you still need to understand and read them. so "catalyst" whatever does not mean the catalytic converter is bad. there is no "catalytic converter" sensor, so there's really no way for the ECU to know it's bad, it would have to be inferred by the person looking at it. it means it "could" be bad, but there's a number of things it could be and the actual converter is a very low percentage chance.

you can do just about anything up front, it's all easy on EJ vehicles. rusted bolts are the only annoying part but yours is new enough that you shouldn't have much of that. how about the axles, have those ever been replaced? i would expect them to make some kind of vibration on acceleration though too. tie rods, ball joints, and strut mounts/strut bearings are the only things i can think of.

the stop leak stuff typically doesn't help a DOHC EJ25. if you plan on keeping the engine i definitely wouldn't add anything to the coolant. i avoid those kinds of additives and many others suggest to as well.

i pulled it off (pun intended). the rear diff and both axles came off without touching anything else like on the hubs. once the diff comes down there's plenty of room to pry the axles off. the rusted bolts made it a much more ridiculous job than it had to be. of course every bolt but one came off (most needed a breaker bar). one of the rear diff hanging bolts wouldnt' come off and ended up stripped really bad. lucky for me it runs through a rubber bushing. being the idiot that i am i blasted it with a torch until it melted away to nothing. awesome, it worked....and the nuts/melted bushing and stud are still on the diff so i can always remember the fun.

stray, thanks for the follow up. i'd like to fix one of mine with a similar situation - front end, air bags deployed. one bag is replaced, the light is still on and non-operational obviously. did you check the sensors on the bumper? did you just replace the air bags and computer and that's it - all was good and the system is operational now?

it's market and consumer driven. minor functional differences at the expense of reliability doesn't matter if the market supports it (which it does). it's more about creating unsatisfied consumers, not reliability or good engineering. that's how corporations make money...of course their goal is to impress both on consumers, but it doesn't take long to realize which dominates. but...on a functional note, i think timing chains now are much higher quality than they were when manufacturers started using belts in the 80's. and when they first came out there was less risk since many cars were non-interference. then the market changed drastically in the 90's. the quickest and most profitable way to deal with that was to use what you already had and tweak it. timing belts are reliable actually if things are done properly. a 100k interval with very low failure rates is good enough for the market to bear. if those bother you then the EJ25 replacing the EJ22 should really cause a stink since that's a notable downgrade in reliability and cost.

yes they can be repaired just fine. the timing belt probably slipped.

haven't heard of it before. if your front diff is noisy and has been for awhile then there's probably some fatigue at work there. i doubt JB weld is going to work, it doesn't do well with vibrations. but you could try. depending how obvious the cracks are a pliable type sealant might hold up better. others might have some ideas.

i forget which engines those have...some in 99 had the Phase I and some had the Phase II. if she has the Phase II (SOHC) she can actually make it home just fine. don't let it overheat and keep refilling the water. they usually leak really slowly and can last 100,000 miles if you just keep the reservoir full. of course without seeing it i can't say anything. and that's only true if it's a SOHC, if it's the DOHC then she's hosed...those overheat randomly.

i don't have the nipple, probably broke it a long time ago when i pulled the engine "just a swangin'....."...probably knocked it off then. just now looked into fixing it. i have another on the way, so i'm good to go!

search the forum here, there's actually a lot of good information on doing it yourself. search button is just up above your thread. search in the discussion forum. there are many complaints about doing this job yourself ranging from difficult to get right, easy to break the new windshield, to being a severe safety hazzard if not done right. that being said, i know people that have done it and there are some good tips and instructions on here about doing it. also $200 sounds really high. i've gotten windshields for an XT6 for $160-$180 before...that's at a professional glass shop with installation, brand new windshield, and warranty. i'd price around. they'll install a used windshield too...but not offer warranty. i sourced a used one for a friend and he had it installed no problem.

thanks EVO. that was perfect. when i finally looked really close i noticed that the nipple the hose goes into is cracked off. everything being black and dark i didn't notice it until i knew exactly where to look. now to find another cruise control assembly....i'm probably going to steal your picture in my parts wanted thread!

i would change the external filters based on mileage and time...it's nearly 10 years old. there's really no reason not too.

it's hard to find quantitative and non-anecdotal information about 1-5 year old vehicles. there's a ton of reasons why. issues are covered under warranty or paid for out of pocket to the extent that people aren't spending gobs of time on-line reporting this stuff or asking questions. many people with a $10,000 - $20,000 car and car payments just aren't the type to spend time on a car forum and trouble shoot themselves. some mechanics that may be members here might have some input but otherwise feedback like this is limited.

awesome EVO!!!! that's the one. the hose travels to the right in the picture and appears to go UNDERNEATH that cruise control assembly....where does it attach to down there? the other side is currently attached. thanks!

my options are always MWE or a used subaru axle and put new boots on it. after market axles suck (do a search if you need convincing).

do not replace the internal "filter". it's not even a filter, it's just a screen and they do not get clogged or restricted (i mean i guess they could if your transmission flew apart internally but i'm assuming that's not the case here!) i have replaced them in the past before i finally figured this out.

1996 Legacy LSi the cruise control assembly in the passengers side strut tower has a vacuum tube just above it (like 1/4"). where does this hose go? it comes from the cruise control actuator (with the throttle cables) over on the drivers side. on my 1995 that hose wraps down and attaches to the bottom of the cruise control assembly (passengers side gizmo). but there doesn't appear to be anywhere to attach the hose to on my 1996? maybe i broke it when doing the engine swap...or is it routed differently on 96's? my 97 impreza is a completely different set up, so that doesn't help. someone snap a picture of where that vacuum hose goes on a 96 or similar set up?

it's also very easy to find newer axles in great shape for very cheap. call around some local yards, the boots on the ones i'm getting around 2000 are still in great shape.

dynomax mufflers are nice. not too loud, do the trick, and sound nice. a number of us on the xt forums have them in our XT6's. +mpg highway driving in an XT6 too!

forgot to mention, some subaru's have vaccuum hose routings posted under the engine hood, smallish diagrams that show where the vacuum hoses go. might want to look there if that's your problem.

the easy solution would be to get an inline FM modulator. VERY simple. plugs into your antenna and essentially transmits anything (Ipod, cell phone, MP3, whatever) over a radio station. i installed one in my XT6, works great and you don't have to change your radio. they have wireless ones do that are very simple to use, but not as good sound quality and may have more interference.

there are also some spring loaded set ups under the banjo bolts in the cam carriers. i think they're accessable from under the valve covers. i believe they control oil supply to the rockers, that bar that runs along the top of them. not exactly sure how the spring works or if it can really be a problem, but i always clean those out when i can.

i have a 1995 at work, if i remember i can snag a picture of it later today. you're talking about the MAP sensor on the p/s strut tower?